VVIP entry gate at Motera Stadium collapses due to gusty winds ahead of Trump’s visit

• Makeshift VVIP entry gates collapse at Motera cricket stadium.
• Police say no one was injured in the incident, gates being repaired.
• Meanwhile, Amit Shah reviews Ahmedabad security ahead of Trump’s visit.

Ahmedabad: Amidst the grand preparations to welcome US President Donald Trump, a temporary gate erected outside the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad collapsed due to gusty winds on Sunday. The makeshift gate, assembled for VVIP entry, was made of welded steel rods and covered in flex banners.

Later, a portion of another makeshift gate at the stadium’s main entrance also came down due to the windy weather, an official said.   

Commenting on the incident, Special Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, Ajay Tomar said it was not a major incident and no one was hurt. “The (VVIP) entry gate collapsed when fabrication work was going on. It was not a major incident,” news agency ANI quoted Tomar as saying.

No one was injured in both the incidents and work was underway to put the structures back in place, he added.

Motera Stadium is the largest cricket stadium in the world. The stadium has a capacity to accommodate 1,10,000, spectators and it is officially known as Sardar Patel Stadium.

The stadium has been rebuilt after demolishing the old structure which had a seating capacity of 49,000 spectators. The cost of the overall reconstruction of the stadium is around Rs 700 crore.

President Trump’s 1st visit to Ahmedabad

President Trump will arrive in India on February 24 on a two-day state visit. He will be accompanied by his wife Melania Trump and a high-level delegation that includes daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner. The US president is scheduled to visit Ahmedabad, New Delhi, and Agra. 

President Trump will begin his tour by visiting the Sabarmati Ashram after passing through a 22 km roadshow that will start from the Ahmedabad international airport and it will end at the newly-built Motera Stadium where the mega ‘Namaste Trump’ event will take place. He will be accompanied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The mega event is organised on the lines of the ‘Howdy Modi’ function in Houston last year.

Amit Shah reviews security arrangments

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who arrived in his home state earlier today, has reviewed the security arrangments ahead of President Trump’s visit.

A security drill was carried out on Sunday for Trump’s roadshow between the airport and the Motera stadium. A three-hour-long programme including public interaction and cultural programmes will take place at the stadium during the US president’s visit. President Trump and PM Modi are also expected to address a mammoth gathering of over one lakh people at the largest cricket ground in the world.